Three new Chicago breweries

Photograph: Colin BeckettEven if it's not yet October, it's still beer and brats season at Chicago area Oktoberfests.

Solemn Oath(1661 Quincy Ave, Naperville, 630-995-3062)THE BREWERSJoe Barley, John Barley, Tim MarshallTHE STORYMaybe it was destiny that brought the Barley brothers to beer (or their impossibly serendipitous surname). More likely, it was their parents’ time living in Belgium. When John Barley decided to open a brewery, he first brought in his brother Joe, then former Rock Bottom brewer Marshall. The suburban brewery has been rolling out Belgian-style beer with a distinctly American hoppiness since May.THE STYLEAmerican (IPAs, red ales), Belgian (white ales) and Belgian/American hybrids (the Oubliette, made with Belgian malts and American hops)THE NEW BEERSCleetus Friedman’s Anaphylaxis, a carrot cake Scotch ale, will debut at City Provisions in late November.THE FUTUREThe Naperville brewery, which provides beer to 150 Chicago bars, is producing as much beer as its facilities can handle and hopes to expand that capacity soon.

Begyle(1800 W Cuyler Ave, 773-661-6963)THE BREWERSBrendan Blume, Kevin Cary, Matt RitcheyTHE STORYSmall business, small footprint—that idea led college friends Cary and Ritchey to partner with Blume and turn their home-brewing passion into a community-driven, ecofriendly brewery. How? They started with a 4,000-square-foot space that doubles as artist studios. Then, they invested in waste-reducing equipment and figured out how to make dog treats from used grain. Finally, they source ingredients from local farmers for, as Cary calls it, a distinct “flavor of the Midwest.”THE STYLEFarm-to-glass, American-style beers such as their pale wheat aleTHE NEW BEERSBeta Beer, a Belgian-style ale Begyle brewed exclusively for Allium, sold out in 11 days. A replacement is coming soon.THE FUTUREThe Ravenswood brewery/retail space plans to sell memberships that allow volunteers to receive discounted growler-fills. Anticipated opening date: February.

DryHop(3155 N Broadway, 312-513-7162)THE BREWERSBrant DubovickTHE STORY“I want people to feel like they are coming into a brewer’s workshop,” says DryHop founder Greg Shuff. “A place that is making [a] product that has a lot more soul than what you can get at a standard bar.” Shuff got his start home brewing before studying beer at Chicago’s Siebel Institute and the Doemens Academy in Munich, Germany. He noticed a lack of gastropubs in Lakeview, so he started working on opening a brewery/small-plates spot.THE STYLEHoppy American beers such as single-hop pale ales and American IPAsTHE NEW BEERS“Stone the Crow”—a wheat IPA made in collaboration with Hamburger Mary’sTHE FUTUREThe Lakeview gastropub, which will feature DryHop’s beers and beer-friendly food by chef Pete Repak, will, if everything goes smoothly, open in March.